Plenty of people shrugged their shoulders in disbelief when Marcus Posley, after being named to the Mid-American Conference All-Freshmen Team, chose to leave Division-I Ball State and eventually set course for Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa.

A couple of weeks ago when he sank the game-winning 3-pointer - just as the overtime buzzer sounded - to knock off one of the other top-ranked NJCAA Division I teams, Northwest Florida State, it was Posley who was shrugging his shoulders.

However, his was not associated with any kind of disbelief.

"I shrugged 'em, but I believed from the first few days I got here that I made the right decision. A lot of people didn't agree with me, but I knew," Posley said. "Now, after shots like that, and after a bunch of wins, I know I made the right move."

Posley, the former Winnebago star who built a decent resume in his one season of Division I basketball, left Ball State when there was a coaching change, and he knew his role on the team would change again. He didn't want to have to "replay my freshman season," so he begged out of his scholarship, and took a different route.

He quickly found No. 1-ranked Indian Hills (15-0) and now has no regrets. He believes the big payoff for his surprise decision is coming in the near future, but until then, he's continuing to improve his game, and help his new team continue to win games.

"This is still a very competitive scene, and there's a lot of Division-I talent here," Posley said. "Right now, I'm happy. I'm not satisfied yet, but I'm happy."

Posley buried that long trey at the buzzer to give Indian Hills the OT win over Northwest Florida, now ranked No. 4 in the country, back on Nov. 30. But he had already cemented himself as a star on a team full of stars.

"He's more than a role player for us, that's for sure," Indian Hills third-year head coach Barret Peery said. "We change around the lineup all the time, so he doesn't always start for us, but he's always an important guy on our team. He's our captain, he's our leader, and he's here to win."

While the 6-foot sophomore is just another talented player on a team averaging 96.0 points, he's certainly stepped up when he's been called upon.

He's fourth on the team with a 13.9-point average, and he's shooting 50.9 percent from the floor while leading the team with just under three 3-pointers per night. Last year Posley - who was a two-year starter at Winnebago, averaging 19.4 points and 4.5 assists his junior season, before transferring to Auburn and being ruled ineligible his senior year - started eight of the final nine games for Ball State, averaging 6.5 points and 2.9 assists with a team-high plus-29 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Page 2 of 2 - Now, he's hoping to lead Indian Hills to a national title, and then see what kind of doors open up to him again. Last year 10 of the 11 players from the Warriors squad - which went 26-4, but was upset in the regionals - went on to get Division I scholarships. A program that averages 29 wins a season and has made nine trips to the national tournament in the past two decades can bring a talented player some well-deserved attention, and Posley knows that all too well.

"I'm going to stay humble, and work my butt off and see what school best suits me when it's all over," Posley said. "For now, I'm enjoying the game again, I'm getting better, and I'm getting my confidence back. This season is only going to make me better in every way.

"I miss Ball State, and my teammates and friends, and I miss the Division I game. But I'll be back."